Wilier Cento 10 NDR – A very expensive solution?

I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the Cento 10 NDR; it looks stunning and I love the design philosophy. However, I’m still very perplexed by the “Actiflex” damping.

Again, I really like the design and the fact the elastomer inserts can be swapped to finely tune the ride quality – but it just seems so horrendously over-engineered.

I have no doubt that it does damp some of the vibrations from uneven road surfaces and therefore give a better ride – Wilier say they have still maintained a very stiff frameset, again, sounds great.

I’m confused why they didn’t follow something similar to what Canyon/Ergon/Specialised have done. Again, use whatever “special layup” they say they have used to create a more comfortable ride, but, instead of using a more complex elastomer damping system at the top of the seat stays – why not have conventional seat stays (and the greater stiffness they provide) and use a seatpost which can offer the same amount of damping with interchangeable damping media.

I have Canyons VCLS 2.0 seatpost on my alu commuter bike – it’s incredible! When cycling over rumble strips/cobbles/etc, it totally isolates the saddle from the high-frequency sharp vibrations whilst my frame remains uncomplicated (and therefore easier to maintain and cheaper).

I am guessing that the reason Wilier chose not to do this is that Canyon and Specialised have already done it, therefore they are using seatstay damping as an ISP.

Am I being cynical?